Journal lubricator



May 30, 1944. F. w. MARTIN 2,350,245

v i JOURNAL LUBRICATOR Filed nec. 18, 1941 B wf@ ATToRNl-:YS

Patented May 30, 1944- UNITED STATES PATENT' OFFICE 2,350,245

JOURNAL LUBRICATOR Frederick W. Martin, Greenwich, Conn. Application December 18, 1941, Serial No. 423,456 claims. (c1. 30s-w88) This invention relates to means for lubricating the journals of railway vehicle axles and is especially applicable to that type of equipment wherein a crown bearing is employed and the lubrication is applied to the under side of the journal.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an improved journal lubricating means which will completely overcome the diiliculties heretofore incident to the employment of the customary waste, which waste, as is well known, tends to settle away from the journal due to steady vibration during service.` Also in cold weather the waste tends to freeze to the journal, so that small portions thereof aretorn away and drawn into the bearing where they gradually accumulate and cause hot boxes. Furthermore, at short intervals the box mustbe opened, the waste loosened, and oil added which is troublesome, time-consuming and expensive.

More specifically stated, the objects of the invention are the provision of means for automatically lubricating the journal without the use of the customary waste or the employment of any moving parts such, for example, as have been employed heretofore with various pumping or other mechanical mechanisms for positively forcing the lubricant against the journal; the provision of a lubricating means which will reduce the consumption of oil; the provision of a lubricating mechanism in which an absorbent or wick-like pad member is employed for conveying the lubricant from the reservoir to the journal; the provision of means for avoiding glazing of the pad; and the provision of a 1ubricating mechanism of the character described in which the lubricant is very simply and eifectively retained in the reservoir below'the journal without the necessity for any special packing for this purpose.

It is also an object of my invention to provide a lubricating mechanism which can be adapted for use either in locomotive driving boxes or in the customary journal boxes of railway cars.

How the foregoing-objects, together with any other objects which are incident to my invention or which may appear hereinafter, are lattained, is illustrated in preferred forms in the accompanying drawing wherein- Figure l is a vertical cross section through a locomotive driving box equipped' with my improvements;

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the lubricating structure by itself; and

Figure 3 is a vertical vlongitudinal section through an embodiment of my invention which `is particularly vadapted for use in the journal lboxes of railway car axles.

Figures 1 and 2 show the invention as 'applied to a locomotive driving box, and these gures will be Adescribed iirs't. The driving box 4 is provided with the crown bearing 5 in which the journal of the driving axle 6 is adapted to rotate. Beneath the journal and between the sides I of the box is located the voil reservoir 8 vwhich is held in place by the pins 9 extending through downwardly projecting opposed lugs 'IIL The reservoir is provided with arcuatev end portions or plates II and I2 and upstanding rectangular side portions I3, all of which cooperate to `form a chamber or reservoir for the oil I4.

A journalcontacting plate I5 is fitted into the upper portion of the reservoir, which plate may be curved either in -whole or in part to lit the curvature o'f the journal. bodiment illustrated I have shown the entire plate as being curved upon a radius which rits it snugly against rthe under face of the journal. This plate is provided with'a series of perforations It which may extend from the bottom portio-n upwardly and outwardly around the circumference of the Journal to whatever distance may be necessary or desired. In the embodiment illustrated I have shownl these perforations as extending over approximately the bottom third of the plate I5.

At itsends the 'plateisprovided with the downwardly extending lip portions I'I' land at its sides 'with the downwardly'ext'ending longitudinalflangeportions I 8,. the 'latter of which 4are adaptedto take against the sides I3 of the reservoir in orderv to prevent the`u plate from being' dragged around under the iniluence of the' rotarymotion ofthe journal.

-At`feach side thev plate -I5vis also provided with the longitudinally extending journal wiping pads I9 which are mountedupon suitable resilient supporting arms 20 connected to the sides I 8 `of the plate. These pads servefto wipe oif any `exce'ssoil and permit itto -drip "back' into the reservoir, return of the oil in this manner being facilitated by the holesf I8a in the turned upper side portions of the plate' as shown in Figure 1.

Beneath thejournal contacting plate I5 is a follower'plate 2l which is curved'to correspond to the curvature o'f the plate' I5 but `on a radius In the emwhich is somewhat greater than the radius of the curvature of the plate I and from a center which lies beyond the center of curvature of the plate l5 for a purpose which will appear hereinafter. The follower plate is rounded over at the sides 2|-22 so as not to cut or damage the pad member to be subsequently described.

The follower plate is supported upon and urged upwardly toward the plate l5 and the journal by means of a plurality of suitable spiral springs 23 which are secured at their upper ends to the bottom of the plate 2| by means of rivets 24. At their lower ends they fit around the bosses 25 which project upwardly from the bottom of the reservoir. Y

Between the two plates I provide the absorbent pad or wick-like member 26 which has its marginal portions curved downwardly vto provideV the substantially continuously extending skirt portion 21 which projects into the oil in the reser-` voir and which is constructed and arrangedvin relation to the plate 2| so as to fit rather closely against the sides and ends |3 and of the reservoir 3. By so forming and arranging the pad it acts as a very eiicient lubricant retaining member because it encloses the main body of the oil in the reservoir and prevents losses which would otherwise occur due to the splashing action set up during motion of the vehicle. In fact. it is so eflicient for this purpose that it completely eliminates the necessity for any other packing means. The consumption of lubricant is thereby reduced because none is lost or wasted, and that which is used is only that which is normal to the operation of the lubricator, and this, of course, is directly in proportion to the degree and -speed of journal rotation. The supply of lubricant may be replenished by removing the screw plug 28.

The plate l5, the pad 21, theplate 2| andthe supporting springs 2,3 constitute a lubricating unit which,if desired, may be secured together for convenience inv handling. This may be accomplished in any one of a number of ways, that which Ais illustrated being as follows. The rivets 24 hold the pad 26 to the follower plate 2| and the springs 2,3v tothe under side of the plate 2|. .The upper or journal lcontacting plate I5 is stitched to the pad 26 as at 29, although rivets may be employed for this purpose also, providing of course that they are arranged so that their heads or ends do not injure the surface of the journal. l i

In adapting the invention forusewith car axle journals in the customary axle or journal box, .I prefer the modification illustrated in- Figure 3. In this view the` box is shown at 30 and the axle with its journalat 3| and 32 respectively, the latter being provided with the customary4 end collar 33. The journalbox lid is shown at 34, and because of the fact that under normal conditions the box and the journal are never separated, I have made thelubrieating mechanism per se sothat it can be flexed forginsertion into or removal from the box, as indicated in dotted lines in this figure. f The structure of this flexible mechanism is as follows. The `journal contacting plate is composed ofy a Vplurality of individual sections |5a whichare curved as in the case of the plate |5 to fit the under side of the journal. They are also provided with perforations |6a which may extend for a greater or less distance from the bottoml outwardly and upwardly. as before indi.- cated. vThe abutting edges 3570i the plates |5a are cut back so as to form a V-shaped opening between each plate, as clearly shown in the figure. They may be secured to the pad 26a in a manner similar to that employed for the plate l5 and the pad 26 or by means of rivets as described below. The pad is provided with the downwardly extending skirt portion 21a which, as before, acts as a lubricant retaining member as well as a feeding wick for the oil.

, The4 follower plate is similarly formed as a plurality of individual pieces 2|a which also are cut back at their adjacent edges in order to form the V-shaped openings 36. Each section is provided with a supporting spring 23a the upper ends of which are secured to the under side of the follower plate by means of the rivets 24a, the latter acting also as a means for securing the pad and the two plates together to which purpose the rivet holes in the journal contacting plate should be countersunk, as shown, so as to avoid damage to the journal. The lower ends of the springs23a are fastened to the spring steel strip 3'1 which rests on the bottom of the box, andV as previously described, this whole lubricating mechanism per se can be flexed upwardly for insertion into or removal from the box past the lower portion of the collar 33, as indicated roughly by dotted lines, the V-shaped openings between the plates permitting the necessary degree of articulation for this operation. Of course, other means for articulating theparts may be employed, but I have found this to-be satisfactory in service.

It `should also be pointed out that in the arrangement of Figure 3 the follower plate 2|a is curved to correspond to the curvature of the plate |5a with the curvature, however, being on a greater radius than the radius of the plate |5a and from a center lying beyond its center of curvature.

It is believed that the operation of my improved lubricator will be clearly apparent from the description given, but it is desired to point out that the difference in curvature between the .two plates permits the wick-like pad member to iiuff up slightly as it approaches the sides of the box so that there is never any undue pressure on anyv portion of the pad which would interfere with its ability to carry the oil upwardly from the reservoir. v The only real pressure which is exerted upon it is applied at the Amiddle at the lowermostl point under the journal just above the springs, but at this point the oil has traveled as far as it is necessary for it to travel through the wick-like bers of the pad. y

When the vehicle is in motion the rotation of the journal acts to create a slight vacuum in the perforations in the journal contacting plate, which vacuum of course tends to draw the oil upwardly out of the pad and against the face of the journal, the journal, in turn, carrying the lubricant to the under side of the crown bearing in a manner well understood in this art.

The journal contacting plate prevents all glazing of the upper surface of the pad such as'has been troublesome in previous pad lubricators where the pad was placed in direct Contact with the journal. vThe constant rubbing of the journal against these pads very quickly develops this glazed condition and interferes with proper lubrication. Furthermore, with the old style arrangements, u sing either waste `or directly contacting pads, it was often found that the fibers froze to the journals in excessively cold weather, `which caused lint-likey particles or short ends to -be torn from the mass and carried on the journal to the under side of the bearing where they accumulated and frequently caused hot boxes. All troubles of this kind are completely eliminated with my improved device.

It can readily be appreciated that by eliminating the customary waste or the employment of any pumps or any mechanically moving parts, I have provided an oil lubricator of extreme simplicity and durability and one which can be very economically maintained in service because it requires much less frequent inspection, repairs and so forth than any other lubricator with which I am familiar. Furthermore, its consumption of oil is exceedingly low while the eiciency of lubrication is greatly increased.

I claim:

1. Lubricating means for the journal of a rail way vehicle axle, said means including an oil reservoir under the journal, a plate having a relatively extended portion thereof curved to it and Contact with the journal, perforations in said curved portion, an absorbent wick-like pad meniber below said plate, a follower plate below said pad member curved to correspond generally to the curvature of the journal contacting plate but on a greater radius, said plates normally being arranged to provide a gradually increasing distance therebetween from the low point beneath the journal outwardly and upwardly toward each side of the journal, marginal portions on said pad member arranged to hang downwardly from the follower plate and to project into the oil in the reservoir and means for urging the follower plate toward the journal plate to support said pad member in contact with the perforated plate` all of said parts being constructed and arranged to permit the side portions of said pad member to fluff up slightly under normal service conditions.

2. A railway axle journal lubricating unit for use in a journal box oil reservoir, said unit including a plate having a relatively extended portion thereof curved to t and contact with the journal, perforations in said curved portion, an absorbent wick-like pad member below said plate,

a follower plate below said pad member curved v to correspond generally to the curvature of the journal contacting plate but on a greater radius, said plates normally being arranged to provide a gradually increasing distance therebetween from the low point beneath the journal outwardly and upwardly toward each side of the journal, marginal portions on said pad member arranged to hang downwardly from the follower plate and adapted to project into the oil in the reservoir, and resilient supporting means secured to the under side of said follower plate, all of said parts being constructed and arranged to permit the side portions of said pad member to fluff up slightly under normal service conditions.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein the padlike member has its downwardly projecting portions formed as a substantially continuous skirt which is adapted to substantially enclose the oil in the reservoir.

4. The structure of claim l wherein the journal contacting plate carries a journal wiping pad for each side of the journal, said wiping pads being resiliently supported to press against the journal at points above the side edges of the contacting plate.

5. The structure of claim 1 wherein the journal contacting plate is provided with a reservoir engaging flange at each side thereof.

FREDERICK W. MARTIN. 

